SPRING HILL, Fla. — A possible multi-state human trafficking case ended in Florida after a 56-year-old man was arrested following an investigation into a juvenile being forced into a sexual contract, the Hernando County Sheriff said Friday.
Sheriff Nienhuis said the case began back in early July with an underage girl from Charlotte County coming into contact with a young woman on a social media site.
Nienhuis said the juvenile had been in communication with the young woman, but also unknowingly with 56-year-old James Houllis.
The sheriff said Houllis had been controlling the conversation through the young woman. The underage girl eventually agreed to take a more than two-hour Uber ride from her Charlotte County home to come live with Houllis and the young woman in Spring Hill.
Before she went to the house, she was sent a “dominant and submissive agreement” by email that said, in part, that she would “always respond to the sexual needs of the Dominant at any time and any manner that he sees fit.” Deputies said the girl did not read the two-page contract but agreed to abide by it.
Deputies said the young woman, Houllis and the underage girl engaged in sexual activities and at times the young woman and underage girl were forced into these sexual acts.
The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office was made aware of the juvenile after receiving a call from the Charlotte County deputies on July 10 about a missing runaway juvenile who might've been in the area.
When Hernando deputies went to a home located on Pinehurst Drive near Newmark Street, they found the juvenile, the young woman and Houllis. The young woman and Houllis reportedly told deputies that they thought the juvenile was 18. The underage girl was taken to a runaway shelter.
The following day on July 11, deputies arrested Houllis and begin their investigation. They learned that Houllis had come from Colorado with the young woman, but had lived in Miami, Hollywood and Hudson before coming to Spring Hill.
Deputies believe that Houllis prostituted the young woman during their stay in Colorado and that he met her when she was underage. Colorado authorities have also begun an investigation into Houllis, Nienhuis said.
The sheriff said that Houllis has a criminal history in California as well. With Houllis having 56 different residences since the 1980s, the sheriff believes there may be more victims.
"It's hard for me to believe he has only had two victims in the last year or two, especially the fact that he was on a dating site, attempting to get other women involved," Nienhuis said in part. "He was looking for the most vulnerable females in our society to take advantage of them."
Houllis has been charged with unlawful sexual activity with a minor, obstructing justice, unlawful use of a two-way communication device contributing to the delinquency of a minor, sexual battery and human trafficking.
Watch the full news conference below.